


First Glances, Second Chances: Collected Dramione Drabbles

by granger_danger



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Drabble Collection, Drabbles and Ficlets, F/M, One-Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26131579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/granger_danger/pseuds/granger_danger
Summary: A collection of my Dramione drabbles, ficlets, and short one-shots.Table of Contents in Chapter One.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger
Comments: 42
Kudos: 115





	1. Table of Contents

**Author's Note:**

> I've been racking up some Dramione drabbles, so I thought it was time to have a place for them to live on AO3! Ratings, tags, and warnings for all drabbles are listed in the Table of Contents below. 
> 
> Ratings and warnings will be updated to reflect the highest-rated fic if they change; at this point, all drabbles are Teen and no archive warnings apply.

  1. **Table of Contents**
  2. **Midnight in the Garden of the Hesperides  
** Rating: T  
Word Count: 350  
Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Head Girl Hermione Granger, Head Boy Draco Malfoy  
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply  
 ***Admin Choice Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Warm-Up Week: Draco** *
  3. ****A Lioness in Winter  
**** Rating:T  
Word Count: 397  
Tags: Epilogue Compliant, Widowed Draco Malfoy, Divorced Hermione Granger, Quidditch  
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply  
 ***Admin Choice Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 1: Leo*  
**
  4. **The Lovelorn Tale of Argus Pavo Snowflake Granger-Malfoy** **  
**Rating: T  
Word Count: 500  
Tags: Established Relationship, Comedy  
Warnings: N/A  
 ***Nik's Post Petal Pick Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 2: Pavo***

  5. **True North  
** Rating: T  
Word Count: 499  
Tags: Vignettes, Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Angst, Pining Draco, Happy Ending  
Warnings: N/A **  
** ***2nd Place Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 3: Pyxis***
  6. **Burning Day**  
Rating: G  
Word Count: 500  
Warnings: N/A  
Tags: Post-Hogwarts, Epilogue What Epilogue, Potioneer Draco Malfoy  
 ***5th Place Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 4: Phoenix***

  7. **Beam Balance  
** Rating: G  
Word Count: 100  
Warnings: N/A  
 ***Admin Choice Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 5: Libra***

  8. **Equivocations  
** Rating: T  
Word Count: 394  
Warnings: N/A  
Tags: Co-Workers
  9. **The Psychopomp**  
Rating: T  
Word Count: 498  
Warnings: Major Character Death, themes of grief and loss  
Other Tags: Angst, Unhappy Ending, Canon Divergence  
 ***3rd Place and Nik's Post-Petal Pick Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 7: Corvus**





	2. Midnight in the Garden of the Hespirides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Midnight in the Garden of the Hesperides**  
>  Rating: T  
> Word Count: 350  
> Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Head Girl Hermione Granger, Head Boy Draco MalfoyWarnings: No Archive Warnings Apply  
>  ***Admin Choice Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Warm-Up Week: Draco***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written as part of a comp, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing. Drabbles are posted anonymously, and each week readers vote and several authors are eliminated. The theme was the constellation Draco, and the word limit this week was 350 (eep!). Check out all 31 wonderful Warm-Up Week stories [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789345/chapters/62859814).

Draco tossed her an apple. Golden Delicious, room temperature, with a nice heft.

They had to stop meeting like this.

The downside of the Owlery after midnight was the droppings. Otherwise, it was their refuge after rounds, boasting a clear view of the stars.

Neither of them slept much, anyway.

Head Girl had gone to a seventh year Ravenclaw. Technically, Hermione was Headmistress’s Assistant, the consolation prize for a ruined childhood.

They sat on the broad ledge of a glassless window, dangling their legs out.

“Look, it’s you.” Hermione gestured at the horizon. A squiggle of stars snaked around Ursa Minor. “Draco, the constellation.”

Beside her, Draco the boy—Draco the man? A compelling thought—shifted closer.

He scoffed. “I know _my_ constellation, Granger—”

Hermione continued undeterred. “One myth is that it’s the serpent Ladon—”

Draco regarded her, his mouth twitching in amusement. His eyes flashed like mercury, forcing her to think words like _liquid metal_ and _quicksilver_ and _surface tension._ “I’m familiar, Granger. Eat your apple.”

He took a bite, obliging her to consider his even teeth, the pink swipe of his tongue, the schoolyard legends surrounding it. _An O in Oral,_ she’d overheard Pansy giggle sixth year.

Not easily forgotten, that. 

She plunged her teeth into the sweet, tart flesh of her apple, then snickered at him.

He blinked. _“What?”_

“You’re terrible at your job, you know.”

Draco arched a brow. “What job?”

He wasn’t Head Boy, of course. He was her _lackey._ Theoretically, this was his _punishment._

That it _wasn’t_ was its own problem, but that wasn’t the job she’d meant.

“Guarding the apples.” Hermione smirked, wiping juice from her chin. “So will we live forever, then?”

Draco the man stared into Draco the constellation. ”I wouldn’t want those apples, would you?” His shoulder brushed hers, intentional. She pressed back against him, an equal and opposite reaction. “Wouldn’t that mean we didn’t learn anything?”

She contemplated eighth year: nearly over, mostly wasted. She calculated the cost-benefit ratio of stroking his pale fingers. She wondered what anyone ever really learned.

No one lived forever, so Hermione reached for Draco’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr as [grangerdangerfics](https://grangerdangerfics.tumblr.com/). Anyone can vote in this comp, so if you want to vote in future weeks, check out [dramioneldws](https://dramioneldws.tumblr.com/) on tumblr for rules and more info; new stories go up [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DramioneLDWS2020_R2_Constellations) every Thursday!


	3. A Lioness in Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **A Lioness in Winter**  
>  Rating:T  
> Word Count: 397  
> Tags: Epilogue Compliant, Widowed Draco Malfoy, Divorced Hermione Granger, Quidditch  
> Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply  
>  ***Admin Choice Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 1: Leo***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this one for an ongoing comp, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellation. Drabbles are posted anonymously, and each week readers vote and several authors are eliminated. The theme was the constellation Leo or its meaning, lion, and the word limit this week was 400 which was - somehow harder than 350? Check out all 29 incredible Week One stories (They were so good!! It was so hard to vote!!) [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25943836/chapters/63062818).

Draco Malfoy first notices Hermione Granger-Weasley at a Quidditch match. Slytherin vs. Gryffindor, which means Scorpius vs. Rose.

In truth, he’d first noticed her at the _Yule Ball,_ long since. But this is the first time he notices her in his brave new life as a bachelor widower.

Scorpius plummets towards the pitch, with Potter’s eldest spawn on his tail. The two boys collide, hitting the ground tussling and segueing directly into a fistfight. As Draco rushes to intervene, a flash of red catches his eye.

Hermione is blazing down from the stands like a lioness, her Gryffindor scarf flying out behind her. Draco freezes for a moment; she’s entrancing, illuminated by grim determination even though Rose is still hovering safely above them, uncertainly clutching her quaffle.

Something warm and liquid courses through Draco’s cold black heart as he watches her pull James off of his son, witnesses the protective care with which she handles Scorpius, who is shaken but fine.

Hermione’s left hand rests on Scorpius’s shoulder, conspicuously absent a wedding band.

So the rumors are true.

Well. That’s certainly information.

* * *

After that she’s _everywhere._ She’s laughing at Parents’ Nights and browsing in Flourish and Botts. She’s promoted at the Ministry and moves into the office next door. Listening to her politely eviscerate people all day long is unexpectedly arousing.

Marriage has left him unpracticed. Instead of flirting at the snack trolley or asking her to dinner, he invites her to the Alps.

More specifically, he proposes a long weekend at their chateau with all of the kids, to ski and see the Leonids.

It’s not his brightest move, but it’s a move, nonetheless.

* * *

On the roof of the chateau, there is a blanket. Warming spells, strawberries, champagne.

Hermione raises a wry brow at him.

“The Nemean Lion,” he says, pointing to Leo. “Very Gryffindor.”

“Yes, well.” Her mouth twitches with repressed laughter. “We were both slain by Heracles in the end, I suppose.”

“We’re still alive, Granger.”

“It’s Granger-Weasley.”

He tilts his chin. “Is it, though?”

She _does_ laugh then, clear and bright and true. “Draco Malfoy, is this a _date?”_

“I don’t know.” He meets her eye. “But I’d like to find out.”

A shooting star streaks across the sky. He knows his wish.

Hermione tosses her mane back and smiles at him, regal and amused, like this is his one and only chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr as [grangerdangerfics](https://grangerdangerfics.tumblr.com/). Anyone can vote in this comp, so if you want to vote in future weeks, check out [dramioneldws](https://dramioneldws.tumblr.com/) on tumblr for rules and more info; new stories go up [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DramioneLDWS2020_R2_Constellations) every Thursday!


	4. The Lovelorn Tale of Argus Pavo Snowflake Granger-Malfoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Lovelorn Tale of Argus Pavo Snowflake Granger-Malfoy**  
>  Rating: T  
> Word Count: 500  
> Warnings: N/A  
>  ***Nik's Post Petal Pick Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 2: Pavo***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another drabble written for an ongoing comp, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations. Drabbles are posted anonymously; each week readers vote, and several authors are eliminated. This week's theme was the constellation Pavo or its meaning, peacock (fun one!!), and the word limit this week was 500. You can find all 26 Week Two drabbles (many of them peacock-related: I laughed out loud so much this week!) [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26093941/chapters/63470881).
> 
> Please be warned that what follows is abject ridiculousness written in one rather slaphappy sitting and I can neither justify nor defend it. 😆

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s a tradition, Hermione—” As her brow arches, Draco immediately sees his error.

“If I’m skeptical of your family traditions, kindly remember that they include blood supremacy.” She scoffs. “Besides, keeping peacocks on an estate is an ostentatious _status symbol_ dating back to Roman occupation, so no thank you.”

“Our tiny garden is hardly an estate—”

“That’s not an argument in your favor, you realize—”

Draco changes tack. “It’ll teach Scorpius responsibility—”

“He isn’t even _born_ yet.” Hermione rolls her eyes, clasping her prodigious belly. “It’s a terrible time for new pets—”

“Just look—” Draco fumbles in his pocket.

“You know how peacocks _wail._ A squalling baby will be quite enough—”

He spreads the enchanted photos out before her. Stepping close, he rubs slow circles into the sore part of her back.

“Not fair.” She leans into him with a contented sigh. “Now I’ll form a… mmmph… positive association.”

In one photograph, a slightly scruffy peachick ruffles its yellowish-white down.

“Oh,” Hermione says softly, her pregnancy hormones apparently working to Draco’s advantage. _“Oh.”_ She dabs the corner of her eye. “Its feathers are just like _your hair.”_ Her voice is reverent as she strokes the fluff at the base of his neck.

“They are _not,”_ he huffs.

“Well…” She shoots him a sly smile. “Maybe just _one.”_

* * *

**_Five Years Later_ **

“Absolutely not.”

“He’s still not housebroken—” Draco scowls at the alabaster peacock strutting through the dining room with his plumage on full display.

“The diapers are working out splendidly—”

He wrinkles his nose. “We haven’t the room, darling.”

Hermione regards him rather as though he is a carton of spoiled milk. “I can’t believe you’d evict Argus Pavo Granger-Malfoy.”

“Snowflake!” Scorpius corrects, sliding into the room on his socks.

“Argus Pavo Snowflake Granger-Malfoy,” Hermione agrees, petting Scorpius’s head as he clings briefly to her leg before dismounting and scampering off again.

Argus issues a mournful, keening cry, reminiscent of a Brontë novel: wounded moans sounding across the moors.

Draco rubs his throbbing temple. “There’s plenty of space at the Manor.”

From Hermione, a dark look. “Entrust him to _Lucius?_ I think not. Argus is part of our family, Draco. He _stays.”_

Argus takes several prancing steps onto the kitchen tile. Fanning out his train of feathers, he fixes his beady, devoted gaze on Hermione.

Draco glares. “Must he always endeavor to _mate_ with you, though?”

Hermione steps into him with a laugh. “Ten years of marriage…” She plants a soft kiss on his collarbone. “And you’re threatened by a _bird?”_

“It’s simply irritating that he believes you’re married to _him.”_ He presses her back against the countertop, raking his teeth gently over her pulse point.

Argus lets loose a baleful lament.

Hermione’s eyes are bright with amused, exasperated love lights. “You’re lucky I cherish you, because you’re absurd.”

Cupping her arse, Draco kisses his way up to her ear. “Do you want me to stop?”

She threads her arms around his neck with a smoldering grin. “Absolutely not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr as [grangerdangerfics](https://grangerdangerfics.tumblr.com/). Anyone can vote in this comp, so if you want to vote in future weeks, check out [dramioneldws](https://dramioneldws.tumblr.com/) on tumblr for rules and more info; new stories go up [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DramioneLDWS2020_R2_Constellations) every Thursday!


	5. True North

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **True North**  
>  Rating: T  
> Word Count: 499  
> Warnings: N/A  
> Tags: Vignettes, Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Angst, Pining Draco, Happy Ending  
>  ***2nd Place Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 3: Pyxis**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written for a comp this fall, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations. Drabbles were posted anonymously; each week readers voted, and several authors were eliminated. This week's theme was the constellation Pyxis or its meaning, compass, and the word limit this week was 500. You can find all of the Week Three drabbles [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26206486/chapters/63778879).
> 
> I meant to add these drabbles forever ago, but I, uh ... didn't (heh), so you'll see them tricking in over the next few days as I get it together to finally cross-post them.

****

**December 1994**

Pansy’s perfume smells _pink,_ and Draco wrinkles his nose throughout their stiff waltz.

Nearby, Krum twirls Granger, who crashes into his chest, laughing.

Draco ignores a tug at his solar plexus, which issues directly from Granger’s unexpectedly glossy mouth. It’s not attraction in the sense that she’s fit, though tonight she’s certainly turned heads.

It’s more that an invisible thread stretches taut between them, and whenever she smiles, it _yanks._

After, in the Slytherin dungeons, they take the piss.

“I’m embarrassed for her, really,” Pansy simpers.

Draco musters his venom. “Even painted up, she’s still a _Mudblood.”_ His words ring false, and the Granger-inspired heave in his stomach dissents.

Blaming the goulash, he vomits in the toilets, which is a winning excuse not to kiss Pansy goodnight.

**July 1998**

“You needn’t have testified, Granger.” Draco brushes past her in the narrow Wizengamot corridor. “Mortifying, enduring your bleeding heart drivel.”

Her defiant chin dares him to walk away. Against his better judgment, he doesn’t.

“Deny it all you like, Malfoy. I know you have a moral compass.” Her eyes are fiery but her mouth is kind. She presses something into his hand as he passes and he automatically pockets it.

“Sounds tedious.” He tries breezing away, but her draw is irresistible.

When he glances back, she’s still _burning_ at him. His overwhelming impulse is to sweep her up in his arms and weep all over her lovely neck.

Instead, he walks away.

It’s not until he empties his pockets that night that he finds the silver compass. For a Muggle thing, it’s quite nice.

Inside, a tiny note: _To guide you. -H_

Because of her, he’s cleared of all charges.

**October 1998**

Granger’s enchanted the damn thing.

Now Draco paces the Manor halls each night brandishing the compass, watching its red needle flicker, examining the prejudices he was raised with like a jeweler with a loupe and finding them all flawed.

Whenever he does sleep, he dreams of her in a wood, cheeks wind-bitten, walking north.

The compass _affects_ him. Surely it’s charmed, possibly cursed.

Draco carries it with him every day anyway.

**September 2004**

Potter’s Patronus said to track north. This forest is warded against Apparition, so Draco proffers the compass.

“Oh!” Hermione beams. “You still have it!” Four years of working together and his gut still lurches whenever she smiles.

“Of course.” He lifts a brow. “Though I know what you did.”

She tilts her head in question.

“The enchantments.” Her face is blank, so he continues. “You laid spells on it… something… to make me make better choices. To make me... _good.”_

“Oh, Draco.” Hermione’s eyes go soft. “It’s completely Muggle. It was my grandfather’s.”

He frowns, falters. "You didn't...?"

She smiles fondly. “It was all you. I _told_ you—”

“Granger.” The air between them buzzes. “Hush.”

Draco kisses her. Currents surge and swell. It’s full of regret; it’s full of promise.

It’s long overdue.

It couldn’t have happened a moment sooner.

She kisses back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr as [grangerdangerfics](https://grangerdangerfics.tumblr.com).


	6. Burning Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Burning Day**  
>  Rating: G  
> Word Count: 500  
> Warnings: N/A  
> Tags: Post-Hogwarts, Epilogue What Epilogue, Potioneer Draco Malfoy  
>  ***5th Place Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 4: Phoenix**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written for a comp this fall, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations. Drabbles were posted anonymously; each week readers voted, and several authors were eliminated. This week's theme was the constellation Phoenix or its meaning, firebird, and the word limit this week was 500. Contestants were not allowed to write about or mention the Order of the Phoenix. You can find all 18 of the Week Four drabbles [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26357551/).

“It’s a surprise.” Granger shot Draco a toothy grin, which lent no comfort. He almost regretted shutting his potions shop early to meet her.

Almost.

Draco wrinkled his nose. “I hate surprises.”

“You’ll like this one.” She tugged his hand and his stomach seized. “Come now, don’t be a baby.”

Before Draco could properly prepare himself, she’d grasped a chipped teacup.

“Oh no,” he said, grimacing. The sudden sensation of a hook behind his navel did nothing to alleviate his Granger-derived dyspepsia.

When they were on solid ground again, Draco muttered about the indignities of Ministry-budget International Portkeys while he endeavored not to eject his lunch over the stony ground.

“Where are we?” He shivered a bit and Hermione passed him a jar of bluebell flames, surprisingly satisfying to hold.

They stood upon a jagged peak packed with dense snow. Before them, the dusky horizon revealed mountains beyond mountains.

“The Himalayas.” At his arched brow, she grinned wickedly again. “Worthwhile, I promise. Here, I’ll heat your cloak.” Hermione stepped close and flourished her wand; warmth, not entirely spell-related, washed over him.

After he’d begrudgingly allowed her to transfigure his designer wingtips into practical boots, she found his hand again, pulling him towards the summit.

Draco’s mouth fell open.

Just ahead, a resplendently feathered phoenix tilted his beak. Ruffling his glorious red-orange plumage, the bird gave his long golden tail a graceful shake.

“Eughh.” A second bird gagged. Rather bedraggled and standing in contrast to her partner, this phoenix bore a striking resemblance to a partially plucked turkey.

“The best way to collect phoenix tears is from a mated pair on one’s Burning Day.” With a self-satisfied smile, Hermione produced several empty vials from her ridiculous enchanted bag. “They mate for life, you know.”

“Do they now.” Very interesting, the way her bemittened hand still clutched his, how she wouldn’t quite meet his eyes, that the tinge of her cheeks said _blushing_ more than _windburnt._ “My being here won’t bollocks it up?”

“No.” Her cheeks pinkened even more. “They can tell I like you. Oh, look!”

The disheveled bird burst into brilliant red flames. Her mate began to sing a lament, beautifully haunting and hypnotic. Hermione crept towards the bird and inclined her head. The phoenix seemed to nod, allowing Hermione to collect his tears.

She returned to Draco’s side and furnished the tears as the phoenix continued its plaintive, heart-stirring tune.

“Granger.” He twirled the pearlescent vial, impossibly rare, eying it with wonder. Something caught in his throat. “This is for me?”

“Well.” She shuffled, contemplating her knit mittens. “Some _really_ should go to a capable potions master, and—”

Supposedly, phoenix song made the pure of heart brave; Draco had heard the standard-issue nonsense. But as the cramp in his stomach converted itself into a conviction—he refused to call it courage—he concluded rather boldly that this was as good a time as any to finally kiss her.

Behind them, a tiny chick emerged from the ashes.

Something new was born.


	7. Beam Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written for a comp this fall, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations. Drabbles were posted anonymously; each week readers voted, and several authors were eliminated. This week's theme was the constellation Libra or its meaning, justice, and the word limit this week was 100. Eek! A true drabble! You can find all 15 of the Week Five drabbles [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26477320/).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Beam Balance**  
>  Rating: G  
> Word Count: 100  
> Warnings: N/A  
>  ***Admin Choice Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 5: Libra***

Hermione examines the card: Justice. A woman holds scales and a sword.

On one hand, seven years of cruelty and prejudice.

On the other, his impossible situation, some small acts of grace.

Draco’s secret, smoldering kisses are a thumb on the balance.

Part of her longs for him.

Part of her wields the blade.

A second card. Another woman, this one blindfolded, her arms crossed. Two swords, one in each hand.

Parvati’s eyes flash. "A choice?”

Hermione shrugs.

“She could remove her blindfold,” Parvati says, “if she would lay down her weapons.”

They say justice is blind.

Love is too.


	8. Equivocations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Equivocations**  
>  Rating: T  
> Word Count: 394  
> Warnings: N/A  
> Tags: Co-Workers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written for a comp this fall, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations. Drabbles were posted anonymously; each week readers voted, and several authors were eliminated. This week's theme was the constellation Orion or its meaning, the hunter, and the word limit this week was EXACTLY 394 words. You can find all 11 of the Week Six drabbles [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26588851/).

It wasn’t technically mandatory that Hermione help Draco with this case, but with her expertise, it would benefit both of their departments if she did. Besides, as long as the suspect remained at large, every minute mattered.

It wasn’t strictly necessary to have set him up in her cozy flat on a Tuesday night, where he sat propped against her favorite cushion, peering through his reading glasses at the relevant files, but they’d both gotten peckish, and getting Muggle takeaway into her office was always an ordeal.

Simpler, then, to bring him here.

It wasn’t exactly imperative that Draco sit so close to her, but Hermione had made a fairly compelling argument for the merits of reviewing the files together, and she could hardly blame him if he didn’t wish to straddle the sofa crack. If the brush of his arm happened to spark some flint stone deep within her belly, well, it was probably just because it had been ages since she’d gotten laid.

Right.

Hermione rose abruptly and crossed to the kitchen, ignoring the riot in her stomach in favor of setting the kettle to boil. “More coffee,” she croaked.

“Granger.” Draco squinted over the top of his glasses at the Moka pot waiting on her stove. “Why does your coffee-maker look like Orion?”

She sighed. “What doesn’t look like Orion at this point?”

The wizard serial killer nicknamed “The Hunter” by the _Daily Prophet_ was two months deep into a murder spree targeting Muggle-born witches. His crimes orbited a complex personal philosophy that included mapping out murder locations in the shape of the constellation Orion.

The clock chimed midnight. Malfoy rose stiffly, stretching out his long legs. He strode over and wordlessly turned off the flame to the kettle.

“That’s it for tonight, Granger.” His elegant hand came to the small of her back as he steered her to the balcony door. “We need air.”

Even in the calm of deep night, they couldn’t escape Orion. His belt of stars loomed before them, and Hermione rubbed her eyes. “I hate that it’s still beautiful, even now.”

“Shhh.” Draco’s fingers splayed out on her back, warm and heavy. She leaned into his touch and thought about pursuit in its many forms.

It wasn’t entirely inevitable, in the end, but she found that she wanted him anyway.

“Stay,” she said quietly.

He did.


	9. The Psychopomp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Psychopomp**  
>  Rating: T  
> Word Count: 498  
> Warnings: Major Character Death, themes of grief and loss  
> Other Tags: Angst, Unhappy Ending, Canon Divergence  
>  ***3rd Place and Nik's Post-Petal Pick Winner for Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations, Week 7: Corvus**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written for a comp this fall, Dramione Last Drabble Writer Standing: Constellations. Drabbles were posted anonymously; each week readers voted, and several authors were eliminated. This week's theme was the constellation Corvus or its meaning, the raven, and the word limit this week was 500 words. You can find all nine of the Week Seven drabbles [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740783/).
> 
> I don't usually write the sad stuff (and my regular readers, be warned: this one sure is sad, heed the warnings and tags!!), but this is one of the pieces from this comp that I'm most proud of.

When Draco came to, it was still dark. Or perhaps, almost dark. The dusty crossroads, the dusky moors — all was grey, dim, but suffused with either the promise or the memory of light.

Unsure where he was or how he’d gotten there, Draco checked his robes and was surprised to find his wand. Last he recalled, Potter had had it.

Odd.

In his left pocket, an apple and his Muggle cigarettes. Some parchment and a quill.

In his secret pocket, a square of paper: Hermione’s neat script asking him to meet her at the library, the first of many notes.

The last thing he remembered was a battle, a blinding flash of green light: not particularly encouraging. Yet, here he was, on this not-quite dark road, seemingly sound of body and mind, with his star-crossed lover’s words against his heart.

He sat and stretched his long limbs, savoring a cigarette, waiting for the light to grow or fade.

Surprisingly, it did neither, and time began to lose all of its hard edges.

Draco started walking north.

—

He heard the raven before he saw it, its enormous black wings a whisper of silence. Ebony against the grey not-night, it landed before him. Ruffling its feathers, it dropped a note at his feet.

_Draco! Where are you? I’m dreadfully worried. Please send me word that you’re safe._

_Love, H_

Draco traced a thumb over the loops of her L. He sent the strange bird off with a reply.

He ate his apple, tossing the core away. Yet when he patted his pocket, the apple was still somehow there.

At a loss, he continued north, compelled by he knew not what.

—

At first, the raven came often. Draco kept Hermione’s letters. He kept walking. He kept eating the same apple and never grew hungry.

The raven came less. When he examined her letters, he found blank parchment, her words gone.

The last time the raven came, he sent his last love letter.

After that, nothing. Everything gradually went black, or perhaps white.

And then, Draco just wasn’t, which is to say, Draco just _was._

—

Alone in the Department of Mysteries after hours, Unspeakable Granger double-checked the wards. She unlatched her cypress box. Inside, dozens of small blank pages fluttered.

The last time Hermione had seen Luna, little Lorcan had asked why she always had a raven on her shoulder.

There hadn’t, of course, been any raven she could perceive. But Hermione had developed a grudging respect for the world’s mysteries and the uncanniness of Lovegoods.

She blinked hard as she stepped slowly towards the Veil, holding out one blank page until it brushed the heavy black curtain. She drew in a sharp breath when the words, inked in Draco’s elegant hand, faintly reappeared.

_Hermione, my love—_

She ran her thumb over the loop of his L, then pawed rather uselessly at her wet eyes. She drew back the curtain just far enough.

She let the letter go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! You can find me on Tumblr at [grangerdangerfics](https://grangerdangerfics.tumblr.com).

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this creation.


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